What is the link between a political leader and those who acknowledge themselves his supporters? How are partisan loyalties formed and perpetuated? What are the manifestations in daily life of a political relationship characterized by its personal dimension? And above all, how can one possibly account for this personal dimension in a political organization renowned for being founded on coercion and violence? Based on an ethnographic account of the relation between Walid Junblat, the druze lord of the Chouf and its followers, this paper is dedicated to explore the core importance of the political patron in the everyday life , and study a relationship highly symbolical although it is constantly negociated.
